Israeli troops kill protester in Gaza

Saturday

Mar 31, 2012 at 12:01 AMMar 31, 2012 at 10:26 AM

JERUSALEM - Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian protester in Gaza yesterday as thousands of people in the Palestinian territories, Israel and neighboring countries participated in an annual protest against the Jewish state's land policies.

JERUSALEM — Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian protester in Gaza yesterday as thousands of people in the Palestinian territories, Israel and neighboring countries participated in an annual protest against the Jewish state’s land policies.

Security forces in riot gear deployed in high numbers along the frontiers of Israel and the Palestinian territories in anticipation of a repeat of last year’s violence, in which at least 38 people died near Israel’s borders with Lebanon and Syria.

But for the most part, protests were small, and organizers kept demonstrators from actually marching on the borders.

Each year’s “Land Day” rallies are marked by Israeli Arabs and Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza protesting what they say are discriminatory Israeli land policies.

Gaza health official Adham Abu Salmia said Israeli forces shot and killed Mahmoud Zaqout, 21, and critically wounded another man as they approached the Israel-Gaza border during a demonstration of a few thousand people organized by the territory’s Hamas rulers.

The Israeli military said troops fired warning shots before shooting at Zaqout, in accordance with the army’s rules of engagement. The military said it responded to protesters with tear gas in addition to gunfire.

Abu Salmia said an additional 37 protesters in Gaza were slightly injured, while the Israeli military put the number at about 29.

By midday, skirmishes had broken out between protesters and security forces in the Jerusalem area. Palestinians threw rocks, and Israeli troops responded with tear gas, stun grenades and rubber pellets.

Dozens of Palestinians were treated for light wounds in hospitals in the West Bank and Jerusalem. Four had serious head wounds from rubber pellets, and one had been hit in the head by a tear-gas canister, said Mohammed Ayyad of the Red Crescent medical service in Ramallah.

Palestinians were banned from entering Israel from the West Bank except for medical emergencies.